It's Not Over
by CHAILYN
Summary: Two years, four months, and fourteen days after Oliver Queen tells Chloe Sullivan he loves her, he finds her.
1. Discovery

**It's Not Over**

**_The Discovery _**

_**-1-**_

_Note: I don't own Smallville in any way, shape, or form. It's just a sandbox I like playing in. And there's the fact that I'm violently devastated by the loss of Chollie…

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_You can close your eyes to the things that you do not want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do not want to feel._

_-Anon._

_. . . _

_I'm giving it all for you_

_I'll do what I can for you_

_All in_

-_ Kristofer Åström; All In_

_. . . _

He wants to cry when he sees her face and she's smiling like she's been told the very best joke.

It's been two years, four months, and seventeen days since Chloe disappeared from his life. She looks as beautiful as she did the last time he saw her, before it all ended, and they took her away from him.

Oliver's loved her for every second that she's been gone. No Danish underwear models, no witty grad students, no innocent small town girls with pretty faces. It's been his constant mantra every single morning.

_I will find you._

Her hair is a soft shade of brown, and it's longer than he ever saw it before. It goes just past her shoulders, grazing her shoulder blades. Her eyes are blue, and she has a scar that runs through her eyebrow. It's hardly there and he'd think it was cute if it didn't fill him with a murderous rage that someone hurt her, and marked her body.

She lives on the outskirts of London and works for an antiques firm. It surprised him when he discovered what she was doing, but she was too smart to think he wouldn't check every newspaper the world over for someone who even vaguely matched her description.

Which he had.

Chloe Sullivan is Emily Carrington, and no one doubts her, no one suspects her of the least crimes, or even imagines that she is anything more or less than born British citizen, Oxford graduate, and a respected partner of a venerable antiquary.

She lived alone, and took the train into the city for work. Every morning she stopped at the same corner coffee shop for a latte with three extra shots of espresso. Each time he watched as the barrista scribbled his number on the side of her cup, and with a sort of satisfaction he watched as she threw her cup into the garbage, noting the scribble with a slight smile and a shake of her head.

_It's not over for you either, is it, sidekick?_

. . .

"Oliver."

She lingered at the door, looking as if she was deciding between locking the door and making a dash for it.

"You can run." Oliver told her, "So help me, I'll just chase you down again."

Chloe pushed the door shut, turning her back to him and locking it.

"How did you find me?" She kept her distance, and Oliver allowed it for the moment.

He crossed his arms against his chest, and stayed where he's been sitting, at her kitchen table.

"You should be in Metropolis." Chloe said.

That was almost too much for him to take.

"Oh, really," Oliver looked at her, studying her for any hint of…longing. He just wanted something, some proof that all this time he'd loved her that his only thoughts had been of her; that she still loved him too. Something more than a recycled paper cup. "I-I am so relieved that you know where _I'm_ supposed to be, because I have spent the last two years, four months, and fourteen days doing nothing but trying to find the woman who told me she loved me."

Oliver crossed the room; giving up on the 'distance' he'd agreed to give her. There had been over two years of distance, if he gave her one more second he'd lose himself all together.

"There were days…"Oliver didn't let her escape him. He pressed his palms into the wall on either side of her shoulders and looked at her, really looked at her. "There were days that I thought that you were dead, and I didn't care what was left, or what fate I had. There were days that I wanted to die because you were gone and I didn't know if I was ever going to see you again."

Oliver brushed her bangs to the side of her face and kissed her forehead. "I have missed you so much, Chloe. You can't even imagine the hell that it's been for me since I lost you."

"Seventeen days." Chloe said suddenly, her eyes mirroring the same mellow melancholy that he'd seen in the mirror the last three days. "It's seventeen."

Oliver looked at her in confusion, and saw her bright eyes shining.

"You said," Chloe reiterated his words back to him, "That it's been two years, four months, and fourteen days. You lost a few days along the way, Ollie."

He shook his head, looking at her intently, wondering if she could feel the love that every fiber of his body was screaming.

"I've been here for three days, watching you." Oliver explained. "On Wednesday you were walking to the train with another woman and you laughed."

He could see the way her eyebrows furrowed the way they would when she wanted to get angry and couldn't work up to it.

"Aren't you going to get angry with me?" Oliver asked, "You're taking this much more calmly than I expected, to be honest, considering that fact that I've been stalking you, more or less…"

"I wanted to throw that vase at you when I walked in the door and saw you sitting at my table." Chloe wiped away stray tears that escaped her eyes. "I always said if you ever found me, I'd never forgive you-or myself."

"That's funny…" Oliver gathered her up in his arms and held her tightly to his chest just to prove to himself that the moment really had come. "Not funny, ha-ha, but ironic because I swore to myself, if I didn't find you, I'd never forgive myself."

"Oliver…"

He heard the sadness in her voice, even as her arms wrapped around his shoulders the same they used to. It was like no time had passed at all.

It was like she was saying goodbye.

"Don't do that, Chloe. Don't say my name like this can't happen" Oliver had spent nearly two and a half years thinking of every possible scenario. "I'm still in love with you. I've been in love with you for too long…don't say goodbye."

He'd been in love with Chloe ever since she proved to him he could love someone more than he loved Lois Lane.

"Please…" Chloe detached herself from him. "Oliver…"

Unwillingly, Oliver took one step back to give her a little space. The last thing he wanted was to give her space; he'd had over two years of space.

This wasn't how he'd pictured it. Not by a long shot had he foreseen it like this. He'd done a lot of thinking, especially on his flight from Metropolis to London thinking about her, and how it would feel, and how she'd react…

He never saw her with tears in her eyes pushing him away.

"It's dangerous for you to be here, you never should have come."

**. . .**

It had gotten easier. She thought it would be impossible for things to get easier, for the hurt to lessen, and for the ache to go away.

But it did, little by little.

She missed them all so much in the beginning. Lois, Clark, the entire league; and her life.

Oliver though, Oliver was the one person that she missed so much that even now she couldn't pretend that she hadn't. She missed him every day.

Chloe Sullivan didn't dislike being Emily Carrington. It wasn't a bad life, but no matter what she did, she was reminded all the time that it wasn't her life. She read the Daily Planet every morning, and it didn't do anything to make it easier. Lois' articles were consistently front pagers, or at least in the first three pages everyday. Clark had even won an award for an article on a day care bomber and the Blur saving the day.

It had made her laugh, she was sure it just killed Clark to accept an award for writing about his own heroic exploit.

It didn't stop at the newspapers though; she did everything she could to look in on them. It was unfair and one sided, but…

She had to know.

It was unfair of her to keep following them all, and to fade out of their lives but it had to be done. She'd wanted to save Oliver and to keep him safe and she'd succeeded. The first thing she did every morning was to peruse the Planet for mentions of Oliver Queen or the Green Arrow. He hadn't been letting her down…

He was saving the world. Sometimes, he even did it with Clark. Chloe wondered when it was that they'd put aside their differences so well that they worked together like they had on numerous occasions, but considering what she was saying to Oliver, it didn't seem fair to ask.

"The best thing for you." Chloe told him, told the love of her life, the man she loved enough to forfeit her own life for. "The best thing would be to get back on your jet and go home to Metropolis before this gets out of hand."

"That's not going to happen." Oliver shook his head, "No. You think I've spent two years scouring the world over, and then some…to find you and walk away? This isn't just a drive by to tell you I found you, and I'm happy you're alive…"

Oliver backed up, circling around the table and held up the latest copy of the Planet, and snapped it between his hands. Last he'd checked, the Daily Planet was not the paper of choice in Britain.

"It must have been nice for you to know that everyone you care about is okay, Chloe. The rest of us have-I have…I've spent this time with nothing but a shred of hope that you were okay. Do you know what it's like?"

"Oliver," The corners of Chloe's lips twitched into what was nearly a soft, gently smile. An, 'I'm sorry.'

She didn't move closer to him though for the fear she wouldn't have the self-control to hold back.

"Because it's the most horrible feeling you can imagine." Oliver assured her, "It was miserable, and lonely, and I was living with this horrible consciousness every day that if you weren't alive and…"

Oliver exhaled, dropping the paper to the table.

"Then it was my fault. If you weren't okay and happily living your life out there under a nom de plume in some corner of the world, it was because of me."

"It wasn't your fault." Chloe told him, feeling guilty as she looked into those soft, sweet brown eyes. She loved him so much; she'd never wanted to hurt him; but to protect him, to protect all their secrets she had to do this. "I made a choice, and I thought about it…and they needed you a lot more than they needed me. You're their leader."

"What about me then?" Oliver cornered her between the wall and the small table near the door. "Did you think about what I needed? I'm not half the hero without you, Chloe."

"You're a great hero, Ollie." Chloe smiled, "I read about it, every day. You're everything I imagined you'd become."

"Well, that's great." Oliver said, tilting her head up towards his face. "Tell me, when you donned Fate's helmet, did you see all this misery in the future? Did you see me alone? Because I'd really like to know what fate has in store for me if you're not part of mine."

Chloe was about to reply when she heard the soft knocking at her front door.

"Damn it…" she breathed.

"Are you expecting someone?" Oliver asked, glancing toward the door and preparing himself for anything, should something have chosen to descend, or even have followed him.

"This is a small town." Chloe whispered, ducking away from Oliver. "It's not that different from Smallville, people come and go."

The knocking came again, and a voice from outside called though. "Emily?"

"Go." Chloe gave him a push, "You'll have to hide out in my room for a little while."

"I'm not leaving you out here." Oliver said, shaking his head.

"Oliver." Chloe hissed, "It's just my neighbor. She can't see you, or it will blow everything. I can't exactly explain what Oliver Queen is doing in my house."

"Tell her you used to be in love with him." Oliver looked at her, walking backwards toward the bedroom on the east side of the house. "That's the truth, isn't it?"

_I still am. _

She wanted to run after him and explain, but the knocking reminded her that it wasn't a choice. Running after Oliver and telling him about how much she wanted to be with him, she couldn't even be considering that as an option. Maybe it would hurt him to let her go, but to have someone who was a liability for him-that would hurt him more in the long run.

That could get him killed.

Chloe glanced in the mirror, rubbing her fingers underneath her eyes. A little smeared, but she'd looked worse.

"Lily," Chloe smiled at her redheaded neighbor who took the train into the city with her every day, the neighbor who was the best friend she had in this life. "Another baking emergency?"

Lily shook her head, stepping into the doorway.

"I just wanted to check on you, love."

Chloe closed the door behind her.

"My niece told me that she saw a man walking between our houses." Lily explained. "You're okay, of course?"

Chloe could feel Lily's eyes on her back, studying her.

_Damn it, Oliver._

"Fine." Chloe said, turning to Lily with a smile. "You've come to the wrong place if you're looking for a guy."

Lily laughed, "I just don't get it Em, a pretty, smart girl like you. Aren't there any worthy guys in London?"

Lily made her way to the table in the kitchen, calling back to Chloe. "I don't think the prince is even good enough for Emily Carrington."

"I don't think the guy for me is in Britain." Chloe said quietly.

Lily laughed, and Chloe watched her putting on water for tea. "Such a fickle girl…what now?"

Lily smiled teasingly, "Are you holding out for Superman?"

She laughed, gesturing to the day's paper.

"He's something, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Chloe laughed along with her. Superman Saves Plane From Crash Landing, the heading read, by Lois Lane. "He's something. But I prefer a guy who's a little more subtle."

"I think he's gorgeous." Lily rifled though the cabinet and pulled out cups and saucers. "Besides, who doesn't want a man like that? He seems pretty perfect."

_He has his flaws, trust me._

"I don't think anyone's perfect." Chloe told her, "Even Superman."

Lily poured the water, dropping the paper on the center of the table.

"I think that Lois Lane would disagree with you, Em. The way she talks, these superheroes-Superman, Green Arrow, whatever…they're the second coming."

Chloe shrugged, pouring a healthy dose of sugar into her tea.

"I guess they're just trying to make a difference."

"Well, good for them." Lily said, "If the rest of the world could follow their examples, I think it would be a much better place out here."

"Me too." Chloe smiled at her, taking a sip of her tea. "I feel safer just knowing they're out there."

They needed to be out there, all of them were making the world a better place, and she wasn't going to let Oliver hold himself back because he loved her. She wasn't going to risk something terrible happening to him just because he loved her.

That was a risk she wasn't willing to take; his life meant too much to her for that.

**. . . **


	2. I Carry Your Heart With Me

**It's Not Over**

_**I Carry Your Heart With Me**_

_Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed and favorite this story. I was totally stunned by how well it's gone over, and a super-sized apology for the late posting._

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_Absence diminishes little passions and increases great ones, as wind extinguishes candles and fans a fire._

_-__Francois de La Rochefoucauld_

_. . ._

There was something to be said for paper-thin walls.

_I don't think anyone's perfect._

Oliver nearly laughed as he made his way around Chloe's bedroom. He wondered if it was a conscious decision she'd made, or a coincidence that this room looked so similar to her one at the Talon.

Normally, he would have considered it an huge violation of her privacy to be going though her things, but considering he'd been relegated to her bedroom until she was finished taking tea with her friend, and hadn't given him any answers…he was going to have to take what he could get.

. . .

"Find anything interesting, Oliver?"

More or less unsurprised, Chloe caught him in her desk drawer rifling through her work documents. Did he really think that if she was hiding something more pressing that the price quote of a pot from the Ming Dynasty that she'd make it so easy to find?

Oliver closed the drawer, and looked over at her. It was the _way_ he looked at her that killed her.

_Maybe you don't care if I get you killed, Oliver-but I do. I'd rather never have you and know you're alive than be with you all the time and lose you._

"Not particularly." Oliver dropped the papers in his hand onto the desk. "I haven't found anything. All I have are over two years of unanswered questions, and I'd just love it if you'd like to bring the rest of the class up to speed."

"The less you know is for the better, probably." Chloe said.

Oliver laughed, "Right, I get it. You might run half way across the world and play at being a new person, but some things don't ever change."

"Like what?" Chloe bristled, crossing her arms against her chest as Oliver walked towards her.

"Like the way you still have a set of rules for yourself to play by separate from the ones the rest of us have to live with."

He stopped in front of her, the two of them caught in a match of wills.

"That's not true." Chloe leaned against the wall, unable to stop noticing for all the ways that she'd changed, Oliver was exactly the same.

Oliver couldn't imagine how badly she wished she could let her knight in shining green leather whisk her back to her life of stolen kisses, superheroes, and the happiest and most fulfilling time of her life.

"You should leave now."

Chloe watched the way his eyelashes fluttered across those big, brown eyes and knew, _knew_ that if she let him, he could convince her to do anything; and she knew she was hurting him; she was hurting herself too…

But she couldn't let it happen. It was still her job to protect them, all of them-but especially Oliver.

Oliver laughed again, scrubbing his hand across his face.

_Have you met me, sidekick?_

"Do you really think I'd give up as simply as that?" Oliver shook his head. She couldn't really think that he could give up that easily.

_Not especially_, Chloe thought, _but I really hoped you would._

Besides, he'd made his feelings for her clear, hadn't he? He thought they were crystal.

"I'm not asking you to give up on anything." Chloe said, "I'm telling you that you should go home and keep doing your job, and I'll keep doing mine."

_And keep you safe in the process._

"Appraising art, pricing kettles, playing antiques roadshow?" Oliver raised an eyebrow, "C'mon Chloe, that's not you. You're the superhero behind all of us-you are Watchtower, that's your job."

"The job that almost got both of us killed." Chloe turned her back on him, refusing to spend another minute on his big brown eyes and earnest ideas.

_You're more innocent than you think you are, Ollie. I love that about you. But you can't get through life on optimism, naiveté, and sheer tenacity._

"Chloe," Oliver eclipsed the space that grew between them as she shied away from him; running after her finally, and grabbing her hand.

"I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe."

_That wasn't the point!_ Chloe struggled against his grip, annoyed with Oliver's persistence with the subject. The longer he stayed here, the worse it would be. She was never worried about herself; he was the one whose safety she worried about every single day.

She glanced up to tell him to let her go, and leave but the words caught in her throat. Oliver's gaze locked into her eyes and the look of desperation was crystal clear.

_I'm so sorry, Ollie_, Chloe thought, weakening under that gaze, _I do love you._

"This time," Oliver's voice broke for a moment, but he regained his composure with the grace that Chloe remembered. "I'll take better care of you. I won't let anything-anyone-hurt you."

His hand no longer held her there; it lingered in the air over her face, his fingers brushing across her cheekbone. Chloe had stopped struggling against his grip a long time ago, and now only struggled against the tears that threatened to fall. She had been doing so well until he found her-and it only hurt all the more to see the pain she caused him, trying to protect him.

_Maybe what I did was wrong…_

Oliver obviously blamed himself for what had happened to her, for losing her, and for her entire rejection of the life that had once been hers.

"Okay, then…" Chloe said resignedly, watching Oliver's eyes sparkle sanguinely, and the corners of his lips turn upwards. This was the Oliver she remembered, and if the thought of losing him wasn't so devastating, she would have smiled.

"Okay," Chloe repeated, trying with difficulty not to let him draw her in so much. "But can you promise me the same thing about yourself?"

Oliver cornered her against the dining room table, and Chloe gasped when his hands closed around her waist and lifted her onto the table.

His lips closed over hers, and she could only think fleeting that this wasn't the answer to her question. She felt Oliver's fingers brush softly across her midsection where her shirt had been pushed aside, and her skin tingled.

Some small, insignificant and rational, part of her brain told her that she should pull away as Oliver's lips assailed her mouth, but everything else in her was screaming _go_, and never let the moment end.

Chloe moaned softly as his tongue dipped into her mouth with invitation.

_Damn you and your lips, Oliver Queen._

**. . .**

Oliver felt small hands press between their bodies, and fingers fumbled at his belt. He pulled away from Chloe, and pressed his palms down against the table, savoring the moment.

_I'm never going to let you go._

Her baby blues shone, but too quickly she ducked away from him to focus on his pants, and he decided she's was the beacon again, saving him from despair-until her hands finally managed to dispose of his pants; and disappeared between his legs.

Vaguely, he heard her asking something along the lines of, 'Is this good? Should we move?'

All he could think was that she was wearing entirely too much clothing. He took a step back to escape from the pants that were going to trip him up and he nearly stumbled when Chloe surprised him by cupping him from behind.

She was clearly as sure about what they were doing as he was.

Oliver struggled against the moan that threatened to escape. It had been too long, but he'd be dammed if they weren't going to enjoy every second of this.

He slipped his arms around her shoulders and behind her knees, pulling her to his chest, a laugh escaping as she squealed breathlessly.

"Oliver! The windows are open!"

No longer did he think she was worried about anyone exposing them for anything-at least not in a boring way. For all of a second he imagined Clark's reaction if he picked up the paper and saw him cavorting with Chloe.

Certainly it would put a stopper in Lois' objections to his never-ending search for Chloe. No longer would he keep hearing her, constantly telling him, _maybe it's time to move on, Oliver._

No, if he knew anything it was that he'd never be able to move on without her.

He stopped in front of the windows, smirking. "Should we close them?"

Chloe kicked in his arms and he laughed, holding her tighter. "You're not getting away from me, sidekick."

Oliver gave up on the charade and disappeared into the bedroom with her, where he dropped her carefully onto the bed. His hand reached behind her, cradling her head and he straddled her body, absorbing the moment for what it was.

He was with her again, and nothing would make him leave her.

"You're beautiful." He smiled, kissing her softly. "I know there are so many things that you want that I can't promise you…but I can promise you that I love you Chloe-I've loved you since you left, and I'll love you until I die."

"I love you too, Ollie."

Her parted lips seemed to be inviting him, and he pressed his mouth to hers.

_You are the only thing I want._

**. . .**

"So, you don't need to be Watchtower." Oliver said simply.

He had been ready to counter any disagreement or argument that Chloe had for leaving him when the sun rose on them again. Oliver supposed he had them prepared from the day that he realized he'd fallen in love with her.

For all the things Oliver Queen was good at, losing the people that he loved, for all the practice he'd had, was not something he had become proficient at.

Underneath his arm, he propped himself up on one of Chloe's bed pillows, resting his cheek on open palm and watched her with a smile. She was even more beautiful and wonderful than he'd remembered.

There was nothing that he wouldn't do for her.

"Oh, really? What then?" Chloe was sitting across from him, with a disparaging smile, and far enough from him that she escaped his range of motion.

Did she think that would stop him? If two plus years, and an ocean hadn't stopped him, a few inches didn't seem like much of a challenge.

Chloe looked at him from under the brown fringe that grazed her eyebrows, periodically brushing her bangs from her eyes. There was a challenge in her eyes that he was more than ready to take on.

_I'm not going to lose you again_, Oliver thought, following her gaze.

"I'm not an asset, Oliver. Even as Watchtower, even if we cut out..." Chloe gestured between the two of them, "I'm your weakness."

She paused, and Oliver was struggling to comprehend her consideration of giving each other up. He couldn't go back to that; he didn't want to-especially not when he could see that she wanted him too.

"You disobey protocol." Chloe's tone was accusatory, a glare of the old annoyance both of them remembered so well in her eyes. "You could have died because of it, and that would have been my fault."

"I'll follow protocol." He could see from the look in her eyes that both of them knew he was lying. Oliver knew that he would make the same decision in a second. Never would he risk Chloe's life.

"It can be different." He tried, making an effort to recover from the lie that neither of them believed.

"You're lying." Chloe told him, point blank; she didn't have the energy to dance around the argument any more. "And I don't love Watchtower more than you. The last two years have been more than proof that you can all function without me."

Chloe smiled, what did she see every morning in the Daily Planet? They'd all become the heroes that she always knew they would be. And it made her proud to see what he and Clark did every day and know that in her own way, she'd helped them along their path.

"You've been amazing, Oliver. I knew your wouldn't let me down."

"Then don't come back for Watchtower, or the League." Oliver paused, leaning towards her with a definite glint of determination in his eyes. "Come back for me, and I promise everything will be okay."

Had he forgotten that not everything in life could be accomplished through sheer persistence and determination? Whether either one of them liked it or not, there were some things that just could not work, regardless of how desperately you wanted them to.

"You're getting in the habit of making promises you can't cash." Chloe rose from the bed and stretched, turning her back to Oliver.

What had she been thinking? Right, she hadn't been. Chloe knew that the last thing she should be doing was falling into bed with Oliver, but he had the habit of confusing everything for her. Yet another reason to stay as far from him as possible-she didn't use her head when he was there.

She'd more than passed her quota of things that she wasn't going to do if Oliver Queen walked back into her life.

Let him in? Check.

Kiss him? There wasn't even any point to checking that off. She might as well scribble through it and write, in all capitals, FAIL.

Having him make love to her in her bed hadn't even made the short list, but she really wasn't feeling like that made the situation any better. Never mind the fact that they did it twice.

Just thinking about it was enough to flush her cheeks and to feel them burning with shame. She was supposed to be pushing him away, not giving either of them any reason to prolong their time together.

_Twice! God_, Chloe groaned internally, _had she taken a complete leave of her senses, or was Oliver really that persuasive?_

Oliver shrugged, "It's amazing the checks you can cash with a few billion dollars to back it up."

Oh…_cute_…Chloe thought sarcastically.

"Come back home with me." Oliver requested with an earnest edge to his voice. "I'll do anything-anything at all you want."

"Oh, yeah," Chloe laughed, picturing for a moment the headlines as she jetted into Metropolis with Oliver; playing Oliver Queen's girlfriend. _Queen's It Girl_. Eh-not the title she'd choose, but those reporters weren't exactly overflowing with creativity.

Being the news had never been in her range of interests, it was one of the reasons why she'd been so insistent to keep things casual back when there was still a 'them.'

"I think I'd be a tough act for the tabloids to follow after the Danish underwear model, and the up and coming actress, what was her name…?" Chloe looked up at him with a fleeting smile as she kept up the running commentary. "Never mind Lois Lane-now that one was fun for all of us."

"Funny." Oliver remarked without much humor in his voice, "You know, you never seemed to care about what the papers had to say before."

"You're being unrealistic, Oliver." Chloe pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail as she heard Oliver get out of bed. "This can't work."

He was as persistent as ever, Chloe decided as she felt his hands curve around her shoulders.

"Forget about the papers, forget about Watchtower."

Oliver gently turned her around until she was facing him. It was as she looked into those brown eyes that were just pleading with her to come home with him that it struck her once more.

She loved him so much.

"I have a high profile job for you." Oliver's smile made her heart skip a beat, "Something you'd like-I hope."

"You just won't give up." Chloe shook her head, "Will you, Ollie?"

Oliver shook his head, biting his lower lip; a move that never failed to turn her on. She didn't even think he realized he did it; it was just a piece of Oliver Queen. It reminded her of a little boy.

"When it comes to you, no."

Chloe sighed; he really wasn't going to make this easy for her.

"The title's a little hefty." Oliver dropped down to one knee, determined to do this at least partially right.

"Oliver." Chloe's heart skipped a beat for a second time, but not for the same reasons. "Oliver, this-"

Oh my... This could not be his solution to their problems.

"God, you are stubborn!" Oliver grinned, looking up at her with less confidence than usual, and she felt herself quiver as he clung to her hand, and stared at her. It scared her when he did that, because sometimes she felt like he knew exactly what she was thinking. "Can't I even get a chance?"

"Oliver!" Chloe hissed, his name catching in her throat.

This was not-it was not even possible. It wasn't even on her list of scenarios from which to deflect Oliver.

"Chloe Sullivan, will you marry me?"

. . .

_A/N: For anyone interested, I had originally planned on a more explicit love scene for Chloe and Oliver but upon the advice of my beta, Ieresial, who thought it was above the M rating, I nixed it and will place it in my so far unused LJ. Just let me know and I'll share the link._


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